Jade Dragon
by Rainbowmnms
Summary: When Jay (OC), your average badass, shows up at Fairy Tail, she ends up being looped into working for the guild. Not before creating strong bonds with Fairy Tail, she gets kidnapped. Will a few of her fellow Dragonslayers set out to rescue her from the "evil" Cobra? Could romance bloom between dragons? Read to find out. Warning: bad language!
1. Chapter 1

I flew backwards, the sheer force of his kick to my chest sending me flying. I felt myself crash through the pair of double doors behind me. I flew through a large room and collided with some piece of wood…like a bar table. I groaned. The problem with fighting mages is that when they hit you, —I mean really hit you, not like a bitch-slap across the face—it hurts like hell. I forced my eyes open.

My back had made a dent in what was indeed a bar. I pulled myself to my feet, broken boards falling off of my body. I had a cut on my arm from where a jagged piece of wood had stabbed into me. When I'd finally managed to get to my feet I cracked my neck and my knuckles. It was time to get serious.

"Bastard!" I screeched, "That actually hurt, Sting!" Sting was strutting into the room I had been knocked into. He probably thought he was hot shit, but I knew better. Just because he'd landed a hit on me didn't mean he was stronger than me. I wiped some blood from the side of my mouth and then spat.

"That was the idea, Jay," he said, stopping a few feet away from me. His light blue eyes bore into mine. I had to admit, he was a little handsome. He had sharp features and catlike eyes, which most girls would go wild for. Me? I just wanted to punch him in the face...hard. His light blond hair shone as he stared me down. I'd had my fair share of running from his fan girls.

"Don't get cocky," I said, flipping my long, jade hair out of my eyes with a toss of my head. It usually fell over my eye, which was actually a nuisance during fights. _Note to self: cut hair_.

"I don't see what the harm could be," he said, shrugging.

"I'll show you the harm," I snarled. He smiled, "That's more like it. I always thought you were better than that show you put on earlier. Let's see what you can really do." He gestured for me to come at him with his two front fingers. _Wrong choice_.

I felt my magic brimming inside of me, just waiting to escape along with my rage. Brilliant green light began to emanate from my clenched fists. Sting grinned and braced himself for my attack. I sprinted towards him, readying my fists. He moved quickly to where he thought I would be, but I had outsmarted him. I slid on my knees through the gap between his legs and then lashed out with my own legs. My heavy black boots plus the force of my kick was enough to knock him down. He fell on his face, but caught himself before he slammed into the wooden floorboards.

I sprung back as he jumped to his feet. We exchanged a series of quick blows to each other's torsos and lashed out with lightning fast reflexes. I'd been in fights against people that were more powerful than me due to my particular line of work, and Sting wasn't one of those people. I grinned as he started to lose ground.

"Wishing you hadn't picked this fight?" I said to him as I landed a blow on his chest and sent him flying. He slammed into the railing on the second floor and it broke under the force. I launched myself up to the second floor with a burst of my magic.

By the time I'd reached the second floor Sting was already upright, "I don't see why I would."

"You've never won a fight against me before. What made you think you could win one today?" He just shrugged and hurled another blow at my face. A lot of the time, when I was fighting men, they went easy on me because I'm a girl. I liked it that Sting and my fights were no holds barred: everything went. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when he entered dragon force, white light shimmering around him and his magic energy increasing. I quickly landed a punch to me and I flew into the railing, a broken shard of it implanting itself in my leg. I yanked it out. When I was in a fight, pain didn't register.

I leapt off of the second floor and back into the center of the room, landing on a table. I was vaguely aware of people screaming and someone shouting something at me, but the only thing that mattered was Sting: he was my opponent. He leapt down after me and I grinned. I crouched down and entered my own dragon force. Jade-colored light shimmered around me and I relished in the power.

"Roar of the," I began, tilting my head back and charging the spell, "JADE DRAGON!" Sheer magical energy shot towards Sting and his eyes went wide. He sprinted across the room, but my magic followed him. It tore up the wall behind him, sending slivers of wood flying. I closed my mouth, Sting panting like a dog. I felt satisfaction rise in me. I leapt onto Sting, pinning him down with my legs. I was breathing hard and so was he.

He grinned. "Why are you smiling? You lost," I said. I leaned over him, my hair draped over one shoulder.

"Because I haven't lost yet," he said. I was about to ask him what in the world had made him think that when he lifted his neck. His lips met mine. They were strangely soft, but not soft enough to keep me kissing him. I reeled backwards and stumbled on my ass. He jumped on top of me and pinned me down in the same position that I'd just had him in. He grinned, "You can try it, too, if you want." I struggled, but I was in no position for escape.

"I can't believe you kissed me," I growled, "Just so that you could win a stupid fight."

"Who says that's the only reason I kissed you?" he said, cocking his head to one side. I head-butted him and he grimaced. I grinned. _I'm not going down without a fight_.

As the adrenaline from our fight started to wear off, I glanced around where we were. I didn't bother pushing Sting off of me. We were in what looked like I guildhall. I groaned. Guilds suck. There are so many rules and you have to be buddy buddy and go out on missions with guild mates. Plus, you only get dumb jobs like going to put on a lame play or fetching a book for someone. That was not how I rolled. I liked living it up and taking on some adrenaline pumping, almost-piss-your-pants out of excitement jobs. That's how I'd been living even while Zirconis was teaching me Dragonslayer magic. The other dragons thought it was strange that Zirconis had taken on a kid like me, but he didn't think of me as a kid…more like a dwarf-like dragon. I guess that's how I acted, too.

"I don't mean to interrupt your fun, but you just destroyed my guildhall," said a voice. I turned my head, still pinned down by Sting. I heard a board clatter to the ground somewhere and a mysterious cracking sound echo throughout the guildhall.

"Sorry?" I said more of a question than a statement. I really didn't give a rat's ass about this dude's guildhall. "Get off, asshat," I said to Sting and he immediately complied. I struggled to my feet; my leg hurt a little more now due to the obvious lack of adrenaline. That wound was probably going to leave a scar, but it didn't really matter. I had my fair share of scars littering my body, including one from where I'd stabbed myself with a fork. It was unintentional and was followed my a string of cusses…don't ask me how I accidentally stabbed myself with a fork, I'm not proud.

"Do you think sorry will cut it?" asked the man. He was a pretty short guy and hide white hair.

"You the guild master of something?" I shot at him.

"Yes," he said with a straight face. At first I though he was joking, but then I realized he wasn't. I started trembling while trying to hold in my laughter. I looked at Sting, "Seriously?" He nodded.

I turned to the man and cleared my throat, "I-I'm s-s-sorry." I tumbled through my words, clutching my sides while trying not to laugh. Suddenly someone lunged out at me, fist flaming. I caught his fist with one hand and twisted his arm behind his back. His fist was still flaming.

"That stings," I growled, shoving him away.

"Natsu, that's enough," said the old man, "My name is Makarov. Pleased to meet you." I grimaced. Honestly, I didn't want anything to do with this guy, but I'd feel kind of weird if I didn't introduce myself. The people who had surrounded us were staring, too. This was the definition of pressure.

"I wish I could say the same to you. My name's Jay," I said, crossing my arms. My fingerless gloved were ripped. My black leather jacket covered most of my arms, but there was a gaping hole in it now from where a shard of wood had pierced it. _Shit, I liked this jacket. _

"What do you intend to do to make up for this mess?" he said, crossing his arms just as I had.

"Seriously? You can't just let me off with a slap on the wrists and an apology?"

"No." I frowned. This was a tough old geezer, but he'd gained some respect from me. I didn't like pushovers. "Join my guild," said the old man. A chorus of shouts erupted from the guild members. Most of them were in protest.

"I don't think they want me to. Also, do I look like someone with a guild mark on me?" The man nodded. He was probably taking note of the variety of tattoos that covered my body. I had designs covering my stomach, my upper arms, and my chest. The one on my chest was my favorite: it was a dragon whose tail was slithered down between my breasts. The tattoos on my stomach were visible because I was wearing a crop-top with the words _bite me_ on it.

"I refuse," I said.

"Then what do you propose instead?" I remained silent. "I thought so. You will join Fairy Tail and give me 50% of your pay for each job you take," he said turning to leave.

"It's called Fairy Tail? What so I'm going to be a little fairy now?" The old man turned and eyed me. He said nothing and walked down the hall, "Mirajane, give her the mark of Fairy Tail. I've got to go to that guild master's meeting." He disappeared around the corner and left me gaping after him. I face palmed.

I heard Sting crack up, "I feel bad for Fairy Tail." I turned and punched him in the face, hard. "That was harsh," he said, holding his nose.

"You should be happy. I could have broken it and messed up your perfect face."  
"You think my face is perfect?" I growled.

"Excuse me, Jay, was it?" said a delicate voice. It made me want to punch something again, and I considered Sting's face. I decided against it.

"We need to get you your mark," said the girl who stood beside me. She had practically white hair like an old lady, except she looked only a little older than I was. She was holding a stamp-like thing in her hand.

"Seriously? A stamp?" was all I said. She approached me and asked me, "Where do you want it?" I looked down at my body. A lot of the convenient places were already occupied by tattoos, so I stuck out my wrist. She nodded and pressed the stamp to my skin. When it came away I looked at my wrist and frowned. What I guessed was this guild's insignia covered my wrist. It could have been a cool tattoo if I didn't know the meaning behind it. Its black color stared up at me, tainting my previously pale white wrist. The girl, Mira if I remembered correctly, left we standing in the middle of their wrecked guildhall.

I turned to Sting, "Just leave already. It seems I'm stuck here, so we won't be seeing each other as often." I flopped down onto one of the chairs at the nearby table.

"Actually, Sabertooth has quite a few dealings with Fairy Tail," he said. I banged my head on the table, then, feeling like it wasn't enough, I banged a few more times.

"You're going to get brain damage doing that," he said.

I glared at him, "Do you _want _me to give _you _brain damage?" He backed off and headed for the door. I massaged my eyes. This was probably the worse thing that could happen to me. I lived my life outside of guilds. They were a bother. When someone had a job that wasn't necessarily _legal _I would take it on. I'm not talking killing people off, leave that for the dark guilds, I'm talking about the occasional stealing, torturing, blackmailing, and other illegal pass times.

"You sleeping?" said a gruff voice. I cracked one eye open.

"Do I look like I'm sleeping?" The dude had black hair and sick piercings. He looked pretty badass, "Nice metal."

He nodded, "Same to you." I had a line of piercings up one ear, reaching all the way to the top.

"You look pissed," said the man.

"You smell like Dragonslayer," I replied.

"Nice way to start a conversation."

"Same to you." We stared at each other.

"Don't like guilds?"

"I'm more of a freelancer."

"Right, so you do illegal stuff."

"Pretty much."

"Sounds fun."

"Better than this shitty guild."

"It's not that shitty." I shot a disbelieving look his way. "I thought so at first, but it's not all that bad."

"And how did a guy like you get into a guild with the word _fairy _in its name?"

He shrugged, "I destroyed their guildhall and then they just let me in."

I laughed, "Sounds like we're two of a kind." He shrugged and leaned back in a chair.

"Gajeel," said a voice. The man, Gajeel, turned, "Want to meet my cat?" I raised an eyebrow. It seemed improbable that a guy like Gajeel would have a cat. I was proved wrong in a few seconds. A badass looking cat—as badass as cats can look—walked over. It struck me as a little odd that the cat was walking on two legs and even more odd that it had a sword slung across its back; most off of all was that it could talk.

"Your cat talks. That's cool," I said, not bothering to be surprised of even impressed.

"Panther Lily. Nice to meet you," said the cat. I frowned.

"That's a weird-ass name, man…I mean cat. Mind if I call you Lily?" I asked. He shrugged and I took it as a 'whatever'.

"Gajeel, we need to go on a job soon," said Panther Lily. Gajeel nodded and turned to me. He smirked, "Want to come?"

"Honestly, no, but apparently I have to, so…sure." Gajeel nodded and stood up, "Be seein' ya." I grinned sarcastically as he stalked off. What was I going to do until I'd paid Makarov back? This whole thing was just a giant pain in the ass. I sighed and entertained myself with my magic. My magic, Jade Dragonslayer magic, was pretty unique. I was able to create attacks similar to Sting's, but also create green mist that affected other's magic in different ways. I mostly used it to blind my enemies, creating thick clouds of fog-like green mist. Zirconis also taught me his favorite trick, which, when applied to a human, wasn't that useful. Despite this, I still enjoyed using it. I was able to use my magic to make people's clothes mysteriously disappear. It always cracked me up. Now, though, I didn't strip anyone against their will. While that would be entertaining, it would create enemies…and I didn't need any more of those, especially not in a guild that I was stuck in for an undetermined about of time.

I let out a big sigh, and a hand tapping my shoulder interrupted my trance. "Would you like some medical care?" said the little girl. She stood about eye level, even though I was sitting down. She had long, blue hair and innocent eyes. She must have only been 11 or twelve.

"You a doctor?" I asked.

She shook her head, "No, but I use Sky Dragonslayer magic. I can heal you…if you'd like." I weighed the pros and cons and came out with mostly pros. The only con was that I wouldn't look badass with a little girl healing my injuries. I shrugged, "Why not, right?" She grinned. I stripped off my jacket. The wound was deeper than I'd initially thought it was. The girl leaned forward and hovered her hands above my arm. I felt relief flood through me.

"You're pretty good, huh, shrimp?"

"My name's Wendy," she huffed. I smiled, "Right, sorry."

"Wendy Marvel, what do you think you're doing?" cried a voice.

"Healing someone who's injured," Wendy replied, beginning to heal the hole in my leg.

Another talking cat, this one with white fur and no sword, approached us, "Don't help that hooligan!"

"Look, I don't see what your problem with me is," I said, standing up. Wendy withdrew her hands.

"You want to know what our problem is?" said another voice. I moaned and turned towards the source of the complaint.

"You came into our guildhall, wrecked it, and then went and insulted not only our Master, but also our entire guild!" said the guy, striding angrily towards me. He had weirdly pink hair and a totally feminine scarf wrapped around his neck.

"Trust me, I regret it," I said flippantly. The guy scowled.

"Natsu, don't," said a woman with bright red hair. "Yeah, Natsu, she doesn't seem that bad," said another voice. It was a girl with blond hair. I scowled. I hate blonds. I took her words as an insult.

"I think she needs to be taught a lesson," he said, rearing for a fight.

"Who's going to teach me?" I sniped. That really made him angry. The girl with blond hair looked desperately to a creepy dude without a shirt on, "Gray, do something!" He just shrugged, "It's none of my business." I grinned. I automatically thought about old men when I heard the name Gray, not the chiseled stripper I saw in front of me.

"Let's take this outside," said Natsu, "I don't want to mess up what's left of the guildhall." I shrugged and headed towards the door, my heavy boots clunking with each step. Once we were outside he stared me down. I yawned.

"You better take this seriously. I'm a—" he began.

"Dragonslayer? I know. Now let's get this over with," I said. He nodded and his entire body lit up in flames. I'm not going to lie; his magical power was unusually strong.

"If you can beat me, I'll forgive you," he growled. I nodded.

"You should know, I'm a third generation Dragonslayer," I called to him, engaging in dragon force. My hair whipped around me violently. I smirked. His eyes were burning with anger. I didn't think this sort of loyalty existed…but apparently it did.

"I took down two at the Grand Magic Games," he called back.

We stared each other down for about a minute. I wasn't going to throw the first blow; I was patient. I was ready for him when he leapt towards me. I was pretty tired already from fighting Sting, but Wendy's healing had helped. I reacted perfectly. His fist flew past my head as I dodged. I lifted my leg high enough to reach his eye level and slammed my boot into his face. I struck him with a fair amount of magic and plowed his head into the cobblestones with my foot. I kept my leg there. His fire had been extinguished.

"Nice try, though. Are you sure you really beat two third generation Dragonslayers?" I jested. He groaned. I eased my foot off of him and crouched beside him. I peered up at me. I stuck out my hand, "Forgiven?"

He nodded and took my hand. I hauled him to his feet. I heard some cheers from the crowd that had gathered. A few people still glared at me, but I was pretty sure my respect level had risen a little bit.

A large hand clapped me on the back, "That's my partner." I turned to see Gajeel standing beside me.

"Since when was I your partner?" I demanded.

"Don't fight it," he said sternly.

"No," Natsu said through clenched teeth. Apparently I'd done a number on him. I'd only intended to rough him up a bit, but sometimes I didn't know my own strength. "I want her on our team," he said. I face palmed. Me kicking the shit out of him had made him want me on his team. What a weird guy.

The two started fighting about whose team I was going to join. Gajeel had the best point, "I had her first!"

"Who cares?" retorted Natsu.

"What do you mean who cares? Ever heard the saying: finders keepers, losers weepers?"

"No!"

"Oh right, I forgot you were dumb." I fought the urge to smack the shit out of them.

"I agreed to go on a job with you, Gajeel. It was more of a favor to your piercings and badassery. I never agreed to join your team. Natsu, same goes for you. I fly solo." They both looked disappointed.

"It's not up to you," said Natsu. He was walking on eggshells. I fumed. He stepped close to my face, close enough that I could feel his body heat.

"I want you on my team," he whispered to me. I felt my face flush and that only made me angrier. Why would I blush because of this dumb masochistic, pink-headed fool? I didn't step back, though. I stared up at him as he was about and inch or two taller than me.

"What are you going to do about that?" I hissed. Suddenly I felt a strong hand on my arm. I was yanked backwards forcefully. Gajeel wrapped his arms around me.

"She's mine. I found her first," he repeated. My blush got even more intense. I pushed him off. My temper had snapped. I sucker punched Natsu in the stomach. Gajeel let out a strange _geehee_, thinking I'd chosen his side. I then punched him, too. The two crumpled to the ground, clutching their guts. I grinned, clapping my hands together as if I were getting rid of dust.

"Well, that solves that," I said, walking away from them. I left them complaining to me and arguing with each other at the same time. I rolled my eye and folded my arms behind my head. This guild was already annoying. It was only going to bring me more trouble.


	2. Chapter 2

I had only agreed to go on this job with Gajeel because he'd told me that he'd destroyed the Fairy Tail guildhall. That gave me a sort of guilty satisfaction, so I'd just automatically agreed. I didn't think it was going to require so much walking.

"Seriously? What is this job again? Are we going magic flower-picking or something dumb like that?" I'd been trying to annoy him the entire time we'd been walking, but thus far he'd seemed relatively impervious to my constant barrage of complaints and volley of assorted insults.

"For the last time, we're going to kill a monster that's been harassing a town. It was an urgent request, so we need to get there as fast as possible," he growled. Maybe I _was _getting to him after all.

"Right, so that's why we didn't take a train," I said, crossing my arms as we walked.

"No, that's because Gajeel gets horrible motion sickness," interjected Lily. He was trotting along behind us and I'd almost forgotten that he was there. I didn't want to admit it, but I also got motion sickness. I was secretly immensely grateful that we hadn't taken a train, but I wasn't going to miss a chance to complain some more.

"Aren't you a Dragonslayer, too?" asked Gajeel.

I nodded proudly, "Damn straight. Third generation." I smirked. I loved showcasing my own prowess.

"Doesn't that mean you get motion sickness too?" he asked. My smirk disappeared. I didn't like it when people found out my weakness.

"You want to die?" I said, straight faced. Of course, I wouldn't actually kill him, but a little beating would do him some good.

"Actually, no," he replied. I respected his honesty and backed off.

"How much longer do we have to walk? My feet hurt!" I whined.

"For being such a badass, you sure do complain a lot," he said. His carefree disposition was going to get him murder. I considered a plethora of methods I could employ to end him. My favorite were hanging him by his own, creepily long hair, stabbing him slowly to death with a spoon, and tossing him in a deep lake. I was pretty sure that last one wouldn't kill a normal person, but considering how he was made of metal I figured it was about a 50-50 chance that he would sink and drown to death. I grinned evilly and stared at him.

"You're freaking me out," he said, noticing me staring. I looked away quickly.

"Were you just fantasizing about killing me?" he asked.

My eyes went wide, "How did you know?"

"It showed in your eyes and your disturbing smile." I shrugged.

"Sometimes you just can't help it." My bangs fell over my eyes again and I cursed. When I brushed them away I could a glimpse of the Fairy Tail symbol on my wrist and cursed again.

"So, how's Metallicana?" I asked, stretching my arms above my head.

"That's not funny at all," he replied.

"Why would that be funny?" He was staring at me. Shit, did Metallicana die or something?

"All of the dragons disappeared thirteen years ago." I laughed.

"_That _is not funny." He wasn't smiling. "Wait, shit. Seriously?"

"Yours didn't?"

I scratched my head. This was something that I hadn't told anyone in Fairy Tail. I haven't lived in this world all of my eighteen years. I was living with Zirconis up until that strange man came and told us that we were going through some gate. Well, rather he told Zirconis and the other dragons that…I just eavesdropped. I'd followed Zirconis through the gate and found myself in a strange place. I'd found myself in present day Magnolia, and after that I'd just adjusted to life. I tried to go back through the gate, but it was kept guarded and sealed. I'd lost my home. I'd lost Zirconis. I'd pretty much lost everything except my bad attitude and my own strength.

"I guess he did," I replied. I wasn't sure if I should tell Gajeel about my secret.

"What do you mean you guess he did? It's a yes or no question." I stared at him and sighed. I didn't really feel like keeping a secret from him.

"Will you tell the rest of the guild about it?" I asked, stopping my footsteps. He stopped in front of me. "That applies to you, too, Lily," I said, pointing at the mini badass.

"Depends on what it is," Gajeel answered. He looked impatient.

"I'm not going to tell you what it is until you promise you won't tell anyone."

Gajeel glared at me. Finally, he nodded. I took a deep breath and brushed my hair out of my eyes.

"You going to tell me or not?"

"Jeez, impatient much?" He just nodded. "I may or may not have been born in this world…well, I was born here, just not here," I said. He stared at me blankly.

"All of the words that just came out of your mouth…not a single one made sense."

"I was born about a thousand years ago."

"Damn. You're old."

"I came through the Eclipse Gate with the dragons, but the gate closed again before I could go back." I continued to walk and he followed after me. We were silent for a few minutes. I guess he could sense that this was a delicate topic for me.

"Are you SERIOUS?" yelled a voice. It pretty much scared me shitless. I whirled around. I saw Natsu running towards me along with his little posse. I face palmed. Here was one dumbass who _couldn't _sense it was a delicate topic for me.

"So much for no one else finding out," said Gajeel, "Want me to deal with this?" I questioned what he intended to do and decided it would be better if I didn't let him go bat shit crazy on Natsu and his friends…even though I really wanted to see Gajeel go bat shit crazy.

"No, I got this," I said to him. I slapped his back and he grunted. I walked towards Natsu.

"What do you want?" I said with a sigh.

"Are you serious about being 1,000 years old?" he looked awed. I rolled my eyes.

"Natsu, I'm not a thousand years old. I'm only eighteen…I was just born a thousand years ago. If it weren't for your stupid gate I wouldn't be here right now. Not to mention that fucking celestial mage and her friend who closed the gate." I was seriously pissed off, to the extent that I didn't notice when Gray's fist shot towards my face. Gajeel caught his fist in one hand. I looked up, "Seriously, man? I'm telling you my sob story about how I lost my family and my entire life and then you just take a swing at me? Really considerate, Gray…no really." I felt tears brim in my eyes.

"That 'fucking celestial mage' you're talking about is Lucy," he growled.

"Blondie?" I looked to her, but she didn't seem particularly put out. I just shrugged.

"Don't shrug. What kind of person just throws insults wherever she goes?" demanded Gray. I wasn't always confident in my social competence, but that was enough to tip me over the edge. Instead of punching someone or getting angry like I usually do, I felt the tears spill out over my face. It hadn't really sunk in that I'd lost Zirconis until just now. He wasn't necessarily the best father figure, always stripping people and eating them and such, but it's not like I took on those habits! He was the closest thing to family I'd ever had, and I missed him.

I held my hands in front of my face, trying to hide the fact that I was crying. I'm not a crier. I don't even know what my own face looks like when I'm crying. I felt my shoulders trembling. Gajeel put a hand on my shoulder and it strangely soothed me a bit.

"Look what you've done, Gray. You made here cry," said the woman with red hair.

"It's not my fault, Erza. She started it," retorted Gray.

I heard the sound of someone slapping someone else, "You sound like a child, Gray." It was Lucy. "I-I'm sorry that I did that to you," she said. I lifted my face from my hands. Something told me that it would be ok if I cried in front of these people. I shook my head and whimpered.

"I know what it's like to lose that," said Natsu, "Lucy does too. So do all of us, actually." I looked at him. Right, his dragon had disappeared as well. I turned to Lucy and Erza. They nodded. I looked at Gray. He just stared at me. His eyes weren't cold anymore, though; they had a sort of tenderness in them. I felt the tears well up again.

"Sorry," I said. This was so not badass…and I pride myself in my badass demeanor. Gajeel patted my shoulder, his manliness not permitting him to say any mushy comforting words to me. Natsu, on the other hand, with his scarf wrapped around his neck, did not have such restrictions. He grabbed me and pulled me to him. He wrapped his arms around me and I let him. His warmth was comforting. Actually, it occurred to me that I'd never felt a hug before. I'd been with Zirconis my entire life. It wasn't like he could hug me…plus, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't even if he could. I wrapped my arms around him in response and cried into his chest. We stayed like that for a few minutes until I felt like I'd cried enough.

I pulled away from him; my tears had stained his shirt, "Don't tell anyone I cried, though. I have a reputation to uphold." They laughed.

"Let's go, newbie. We've got a monster to kill," said Gajeel, grabbing me and slinging me over his shoulder. I gasped and then kneed him in the chest. He let out a gust of air and then dropped me. "Don't call me newbie." I walked away from him, not bothering to wait for him to catch his breath.

Natsu caught up to me, "Mind if we come?"

"Honestly?"

"Yeah."

"Yep, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing I can do about it." Natsu grinned widely and I jotted down in my mental notebook that he had a really adorable smile.

**~The Next Day~**

We'd slept the night at an inn, one town over from where our target was. Unfortunately, we'd only been able to book two rooms. We decided that the boys would sleep in one room and the girls in the other. This meant that I had to share a room with prissy Lucy—although my opinion of her had changed a bit after I'd found out she'd lost someone as well—and the strangely violent Erza…not that she was as violent as me.

I grumbled and forced my eyes open. I rubbed my eyes, still lying down. When I started to get a firm hold of my consciousness, I realized that my chest felt heavy. I glanced down at my chest, my dragon's tail disappearing beneath my tank top, and saw something that greatly pissed me off. Lucy was sleeping on my chest, curled up against my body. I dropped my head again and pinched the bridge of my nose. Stupid girl.

"Lucy," I said, poking her in the face. She didn't wake up. She just made a strangely adorable mumbling sound and shifted on my chest. Unfortunately for her, that small shift had caused her to be right on top of my lungs. She was cutting off my air. I reached forward ands lowly lifted the blankets off of her. She groaned, but didn't wake up. _God, I love this_, I thought. I released a tiny bit of my magic and stripped Lucy clean in a fraction of a second. Her eyes snapped open.

"Cold!" she yelped. She fell out of the bed and ran to the door in all her naked glory. She ripped open the door as if she were afraid she was being attacked or something. I guess she had been…in a way. What she didn't realize was that she was naked. Erza was wide-awake now, sitting up on the couch she'd slept on, "What? What is it?"

"Oh, nothing. Lucy just thought it would be funny to go streaking through the inn," I said. Erza's eyes went wide. I felt sort of bad about it. I didn't think that she would dash out of the room like a maniac. Luckily, she wasn't screaming so she wouldn't wake up any of the other residents. I stepped out into the hallway, Erza behind me. I felt chilly in my black tank top and red, plaid pajama pants. Erza looked even stranger though. She was wearing a strange, pink, matching set of pajamas. I stifled a laugh and then went after Lucy.

I soon caught up to her and grabbed her wrist, "Lucy! Lucy, you're ok. Snap out of it!" Her eyes began to focus.

"What happened?" I wasn't about to tell her that I'd intentionally and maliciously stripped her and then she'd gone flying through the building stark naked. That wasn't going to be the version I told her, at least.

"Um, during the night you took off your clothes and then sleep walked out into the hallway," was what I told her. She looked down at herself. She shrieked and did her best to cover herself. It didn't really work, though.

"Let's get you back to the room," I said, my shoulders quivering while I was trying to hold in a laugh. I have to admit, it was a pretty entertaining way to wake me up and shake off the sleep. I briefly entertained the idea of doing this every morning and letting Lucy think that she'd developed a horrible stripping habit just like Gray, but thought better of it almost immediately. I wasn't that cruel.

When we were almost back to the door, Erza waiting for us, the door next to ours creaked open. Out stepped Gray. I cursed loudly and stepped in front of Lucy. She cowered behind me.

"'Sup, Gray. How'd you sleep?" I asked, doing my best to shield Lucy.

He rubbed his eyes, "Fine." That was when he saw Lucy behind me. His eyes went wide and his face turned bright red, "L-L-L-L-Lucy…y-you're clothes!" I had to admit, it must've been a nice way to wake up for him. I escorted her into the room, doing my best to shield her from Gray's pervy eyes. After I'd shut the door behind me, leaving Lucy in Erza's hands, I turned to Gray.

"W-what happened?" he asked me. He was still bright red. It was pretty obvious to me that he liked her…like, a lot. I guess I'd figured that out when he'd defended her honor back when they'd first caught up with Gajeel and I. I let out a small laugh and then sucked it in. I was shaking, trying not to make a single peep. Then I lost it. My laughter echoed through the hallway, bouncing off of the doors and reverberating in my chest. I fell to the ground, leaning against the wall. I kept laughing for a while. Finally, Natsu and Gajeel came out of their room to see what was up. Clearly, they'd heard me.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Natsu. Gajeel crouched beside me and felt my forehead. I was still laughing.

"No fever," he said, getting to his feet.

"L-L-L-L-L-L-L…n-n-n-na-nak," stuttered Gray. It only made me laugh harder.

"What's wrong with _you?_" asked Natsu. When I'd laughed for so long that my abs were hurting, I wiped my tears away and took deep breaths. I don't think I'd ever laughed that hard before, never enough to make my facial muscles hurt.

"Care to explain?" said Natsu.

"Lucy decided to go streaking," I said. I struggled to my feet, "Well, she did _exactly _decide to."

"What? Did you strip her by force and then lock her out of the room?" asked Gajeel.

"You really think that low of me?"

"Yes." I frowned at him.

"I wasn't _directly _responsible for the streak-fest…maybe a little." Lucy and Erza stepped out of our room.

"What do you mean a little?" Lucy asked. _Shit_. I whistled and started to walk away. She grabbed my arm and repeated her question.

"It was revenge, all I did was strip you. Only you, yourself were responsible for sprinting down the hallway butt-naked!" I insisted, "Hey, I went to stop you once you ran out the door."

"If you hadn't I would have just punched you," she said and turned to leave. I had a feeling a punch from this girl wouldn't really hurt that much. I leaned over to Gray and nudged his arm. I winked at him, "You're welcome." He turned bright red and I turned and walked after Lucy. That was a pretty good morning.

**~Later That Day~**

Unfortunately, the town where this monster kept appearing was pretty dull. We had to wait for the monster to return to the town—I wasn't even sure what kind of monster it was—before we could defeat it. We'd been walking around the town for a while now. Very few people were in the streets, and the few who were rushed indoors when they saw us coming.

"Well, that's not very nice," I said, crossing my arms when a tubby lady slammed her door.

"Why are they avoiding us?" Lucy asked.

"How should we know?" asked Gajeel. He'd been in a relatively bad mood ever since I'd given in to Natsu and company joining us. I guess he liked rolling solo just like me. But then, why had he invited me to come with him?

"Maybe they saw the stripper and wanted to avoid him?" I guessed. Gray punched me lightly.

"Come on, though. Gray, I can totally see that happen—" I was cut off by a loud roaring sound. It came from behind us and we all turned around. The thing was charging right at us. I wasn't really sure what it was—that is, whatever species the thing was didn't exist where I'd come from—but it was coming at us fast. As it got closer I was able to note its appearance a bit more accurately.

The beast had two long horns sprouting out of the front of its face. Its head and upper body looked like a giant black horse, but its rear end looked more like a lizard. It had red scales covering the upper half of its hind legs. The scales that turned into what looked like tiger paws. It had what looked like a dog's tail, which was black and bushy. Most importantly, though, it looked angry. Everyone prepared himself or herself. Natsu lit his fists, smiling as if he were anticipating the battle. Gajeel was tensed, readying himself to dodge. Lucy was holding some of her keys…I wasn't sure which ones or even what spirits she possessed. Erza had requipped at lightning speed into some strange set of armor that I didn't recognize. Blue light was coming from Gray's fists, his body in a strange position. Lily was suddenly taller than me, which I didn't even bother to question. With all the weird shit I'd seen in this guild, a cat or two growing giant wasn't even a blip on my radar. I didn't even bother to think about the fact that his sword grew as well. I just sighed and leaned against a nearby building.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's a chimaera," Natsu answered, "Resistant to fire and pretty dangerous." _Great. _As the thing got closer it roared again, this time sounding more like a horse than the monster I'd previously thought it to be. Everyone, except for me, attacked at once. Natsu lunged forward and landed a blow on its head, but it just rammed into him. Natsu went flying. Yep, resistant to fire. Gajeel was up next. He slammed his iron fist into its side with enough force to make it roar out in pain. Unfortunately, it knocked him aside as well. Lily didn't even have a chance to attack before I screamed out, "Wait!" Surprisingly everyone seemed to listen to me. They backed off, but the monster took the one chance it had to attack. It charged at full speed.

I ran towards it. There's one thing you should know. My magic also grants me increased strength. How much? Let's just say it's enough to enable me to stop a fully-grown chimaera mid-charge…and that's exactly what I did. I grabbed onto its horns and pushed with all my strength. This thing was probably ten, maybe fifteen times as strong as the average horse…not that I've wrestled that many horses in my day. I felt my feet dig into the road, cracking the stones beneath my toes. My boots withstood the pressure…thankfully. I stared the chimaera in the eyes. It was breathing hard, but I could hear the labor in each breath.

It was injured, probably a few broken ribs. Something else was bothering it though…something I couldn't quite place my finger on. I started to hush the beast. I felt the pressure against my muscles ease a bit. I released its horns and slowly reached my hand out. At first it shrunk back, but then it let me stroke its nose.

"What's the matter? Why are you attacking this place?" I asked it. I didn't really expect it to answer me, but I wanted to calm it down a bit. I looked over at its side and noticed something strange. It was favoring one of its legs. I reached down slowly and touched the leg. It squealed. I was right; its leg was hurt pretty badly. I slowly lifted one of its cloven legs. Its hoof was about the size of my head…maybe a little larger. Stuck in the center of its hoof was a large rock. I braced myself; it wasn't going to be pretty getting it out. I peeled off my gloves, not wanting to get any blood on them…not like it wasn't inevitable considering how much I punch people. I counted to three and then ripped the rock out of its hoof. It reared and I had to dodge its leg.

When I stood up the beast looked relatively calm. It stood near me and nuzzled my face. I laughed, "Yeah, you're not that bad, are you?" It whinnied. I looked over to where the others were. They were all staring at me open-mouthed.

"What? I could tell something was wrong," I said.

"Said the person who threatens to kill and physically abuse people constantly," said Gajeel. He was clutching his side.

"I have a soft spot for animals," I said. Lily raised his hand and I shook my head, "Only ones that don't talk." He looked disappointed. A snake-like tongue slid across my barren upper back. I shivered, "Ah, God."

"I think it likes you," said Lucy, "I've never seen a chimaera just accept someone like that."

"I guess it's happy that the rock is out," I said, shrugging.

"What rock?" asked Gray.

"Check it out. This was in his hoof," I said, tossing the bloody rock to Gray. He grimaced and dropped it on the ground. I laughed and stroked the chimaera's snout. It licked me again. It seemed gentle now, which I thought was adorable.

"He's actually pretty cute," I said. He nuzzled me.

"Are you going to keep it?" asked Natsu. I shot him a weird look. "What? You don't have a partner."

"And you do?" I asked.

"Yeah, Happy. He's not here right now, though. He got sick," said Natsu.

"Let me guess…a cat?" Natsu looked surprised, but it had gotten too easy to tell that those first generation Dragonslayers all had those weird, talking cats.

"Maybe I will," I said, "How about I name you…"

"You should name him Rocky," said Natsu, laughing.

"That's not funny at all," I said, glaring at him, "How about Finn?"

"But he doesn't have any fins," said Natsu, looking confused.

"Shaddup, Natsu. Don't be stupid." I stroked Finn's muzzle. He licked my face again, brushing my bangs out of my eyes. "Nice to meet you, Finn." I smiled. _It's strange_, I thought, _being surrounded by friends. _


	3. Chapter 3

I felt Finn's strong muscles shift with each of his steps. I was practically draped across him, my arms and legs dangling off of him. His black mane tickled my nose and I sniffled to try and rid myself of the itch.

"Well, we can't take the train," said Erza. She was walking beside me.

"You can take the train, but I'm not about to abandon Finn," I said, sitting up and patting his neck. He whinnied out of delight. I smiled. I'd practically already established a lifelong bond with him. There was no way I was changing my mind just to take what I'd non-affectionately dubbed "the ride of hell" in some train.

"I'll walk," said Gajeel coolly. I smirked. He just wanted to avoid the train as well.

"Me too," said Natsu, "We're not that far from Magnolia anyways."

"You just want to avoid the train," said Lucy.

"Yeah, pretty much," he replied. I had to hand it to the man, he wasn't shy about his weaknesses. I guess that's what rockin' the pink hair and lady scarf for so long would do to you.

"I kind of feel like sleeping," I said, leaning back down on Finn's huge back.

"Then sleep, I'll guide Finn," said Natsu. Natsu reached for Finn's face so that he could steer Finn, but Finn made a sort of growling sound and snapped at his fingers.

"Good luck with that," I said, "Don't worry, Finn's pretty smart. He'll follow you." I felt my eyes close slowly and tangled my fingers into Finn's mane. He neighed as if to agree to my statement. I smiled and fell asleep right on his back.

**~That Night~**

"Jay? Jay!" said a voice. I startled and felt myself sliding off of something. It was too late when I realized I was sliding off of Finn, who's back stood about six feet off of the ground. I plummeted to my demise…ok, well not really my demise, but it was going to hurt. I braced for the pain, but it didn't come. Instead I felt warm arms wrap around me. I peeked through one eye.

Natsu's face was inches from mine and I could feel his breath on my cheek. For a second I hesitated, not knowing why, before I shoved out of his arms. He dropped and I landed with a thunk on my butt.

"Ouch," I grumbled as I got to my feet. I was too busy massaging my tailbone to notice where we were.

"We're at Fairy Tail, Jay," he said. For some reason my heard did a little dance when he said my name. I looked up at saw the guildhall towering above us.

"What am I going to do about Finn?" I pondered.

"Leave him out here for now. We'll come back later to get him and figure something out," said Natsu. For some reason that idea seemed horrid to me. I reeled backwards.

"No! I won't leave him alone out in the cold!" I said.

Natsu raised his hands in surrender, "It's not my fault if you don't get anything to eat." I frowned.

"I'll stay with him for now," I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. I felt weirdly attached to him, but I didn't really care, "Can you bring some food for him, though? I just don't want to leave him alone."

"No food for yourself?"

I shrugged, "Whatever you can do would be good." Natsu sighed and disappeared into the guildhall. Finn shook his mane out. I patted his thick neck.

"It's alright. I asked Natsu to bring you some food. You must be hungry, huh?" His snake tongue flicked out of his muzzle and barely missed my face. I'd gotten used to dodging it now, which was a good thing. I didn't need chimaera drool on my face 24/7.

I sighed and leaned against Finn. He was practically like a wall, so I didn't put a burden on him. For some reason I still felt tired even though I'd slept practically all day on Finn's back. He was probably more tired than me, though, so I made it my priority to get him some food before I went to bed. I stroked his side, running my fingers along the smooth, deep red scales on his hind legs. His bushy tail flicked me in the face and I spat some hair out of my mouth. A soft, pale light shone down on us from the street lamp above our heads. A quiet buzzing sound, probably inaudible to the average human, was emitted by the magic that ran through it.

Fun fact about me: I've never had anyone manage to sneak up on me before. That's probably why what happened next came as such a surprise to me. The only thing I saw was a shadow appearing beside my own on Finn's side, cast by the lamplight. I flinched, about to turn and attack when I felt a strange pressure in the back of my neck. I tried to cry out, but my voice wouldn't cooperate with my brain. I felt unexpected warmth by my neck and a voice whisper softly into my ear, "Too late." I heard Finn neigh and then saw him rear onto his hind legs. My body went numb as I saw another shadow appear. That's when I blacked out.

**~Some Time Later~**

My body felt numb, like I'd been punched all over. It hurt pretty badly. I tried to sit up, but my body wouldn't cooperate. I felt a wave of nausea flood through me and for a moment I thought I was on a vehicle of some sort.

"You've been poisoned, in case you're wondering," said a voice. I cracked on of my eyes open. My brain was too fuzzy to register what he looked like.

"Have I now?" I said.

He laughed, "You seem pretty calm about it."

"I don't mean to burst your bubble, but I've been in worse shit than this before."

"Really? Like what?"

I thought for a moment, "Ever been attacked by a sex-craved dragon?"

He laughed again, a deep rich laugh that reached his eyes, "No. Can't say that I ever have." I nodded.

"That's what most people say," I said. I closed my eyes, my brow furrowing in pain. I groaned quietly. _Shit_.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" he asked. It sort of felt like my limbs were being torn apart and then reattached using nails and then torn off again.

"I would say no, but that would be a lie. Nothing like that warped dragon though. I'm scarred from that experience…literally and figuratively."

He didn't say anything for a few seconds, "Don't make me like you; it'll only make this harder."

I let out a half-laugh, half-crying sound, "I'm sorry that this is so hard for you."

"I didn't want to do this to you," he said.

"Did you hurt Finn?" I asked calmly, fighting through the pain that was now splitting my head open.

"Finn?"

"My chimaera."

"No."

I nodded as best I could, "That's good then."

"You might die soon and you're only worrying about your pet?"

"He's not my pet, he's my friend…and yes." I laughed again.

"If I…if I help you will you try and escape?"

"Honestly, I didn't even want to be in Fairy Tail in the first place. The only reason I joined is because I trashed their guildhall." The man laughed again. Something about his laugh drew me in.

"I'm going to help you. Just know that I'm sorry," he whispered into my ear. His breath felt hot on my neck. I felt him place a warm hand on the back of my neck. Seconds later I screamed out in pain. It felt like he was breaking my neck. I writhed and scratched at his arm. I felt tears leak out of the corners of my eyes. Suddenly the pain stopped. I was gasping for air, my sides heaving.

"That hurt a little," I said. I pushed myself upright, my body still feeling a bit weak. I swiped my hair out of my eyes and opened them. Sitting in front of me was the man. He had strange serpent-like eyes and pointed ears. I raised an eyebrow, "I don't mean to hurt your self-confidence or anything, but you look like an elf."

He smiled. He seemed kind to me. I wondered why he'd kidnapped me. "I'll ignore the fact that you just said that," he said.

"So, why'd you abduct me?" I asked. I looked around us. We were in some sort of cave. It was a little chilly. I shivered and then watched as the man took of his coat. He draped it over my shoulders and sat back down again. I nodded in thanks.

"It's because you looked close to Natsu Dragneel." That caught me off guard.

"Bad blood between the two of you?"

"You could say that," he said, his face getting dark, "Because of him I lost my closest friend." Whoa, that sounded deep.

"Sorry?"

"I should be the one saying that. I just wanted to hurt him in the way he'd hurt me. I guess it was stupid."

"It's not _that _stupid…just _pretty _stupid." I curled my legs close to my chest and he came and sat down beside me.

"I guess you're right, but there's no turning back now. When I first saw you, he was smiling at you. I just couldn't stand it that he could have that happiness and I couldn't. I was jealous, I guess."

"Jealousy makes people ugly," I said. He stared at me.

"Thanks," he said. I laughed and elbowed him.

"Not as ugly as those ears, though," I said. He punched me in the arm.

"Leave my ears out of this!" We laughed and had the equivalent of a sissy-fight, slapping each other whenever we had the chance. When we'd finally finished I stared at him.

"I don't actually think your ears are ugly, though. They're actually pretty cool." He grinned. "Also, you should tell me your name," I said.

"My name's Cob—Erik…you can call me Erik," he said. I didn't bother questioning his hesitation. We all have secrets that we want to keep from others. I had plenty of my own; being over one thousand years old was one of them.

"I'm Jay," I said.

"I guess this is kind of late…and really out of place, but nice to meet you?" We shook hands and then I slapped him on the back.

"You're a decent guy, Erik," I said.

"I can take a compliment," he replied. This guy didn't seem like the type to kidnap people, but I guess that was just because he seemed so friendly.

"Are you going to let me go?" I asked, addressing the elephant in the room. Erik looked at me…longingly?

His eyes hardened, "No."

I nodded, a bit disappointed…not that I wanted to get back to Fairy Tail or something like that, "Right, you've got your revenge to carry out." I cracked my neck and rolled my head around on my shoulders.

"That's not why," he said under his breath, but I heard him. I ignored it. If it wasn't for revenge, why was he keeping me here?

"Ugh, my neck hurts like hell," I complained, "You couldn't have withheld the poisonous attack?" He grinned, the weird look gone from his eyes.

"You got a pillow?" I asked. He shook his head. I eyed him. I considered the pros and cons. Pros: equivalent of pillow, probably warm and comfortable. Cons: well, there was the obvious one. I shrugged and decided to go for it. I lay my head on his lap and closed my eyes. It was a bold move, but I was a bold person.

"What are you doing? I'm your kidnapper!" he demanded.

"Stop being so stiff, it's uncomfortable!"

"But—"

"No buts! I'm trying to sleep here!" He didn't say anything. He just let me stay there, relaxing on his lap. I was about to fall asleep and let the exhaustion take over when I felt him gently brush my hair away from my face…or maybe I had imagined it?


	4. Chapter 4

I was surrounded by gentle warmth. I was used to the cold, so such warmth was welcome. I sighed deeply. Having just woken up in such pleasant conditions, I really didn't want to open my eyes and admit to myself that the day was starting. I immersed myself in momentary bliss before I realized something: I'd just been kidnapped.

I guess if it had been anyone other than Erik who'd kidnapped me, I would have beaten them half, (or maybe completely), to death. Erik, though, was just a guy who'd lost a close friend. Granted, revenge wasn't an ideal course of action…I knew that at least. I decided it would be ok if I just stayed in the position. I listened intently to the noises that surrounded me: birds chirping, leaves rustling in the wind, and a heartbeat.

I opened my eyes a sliver. Reality started to kick in. I was lying on Erik's chest. It was his heartbeat that was pounding in my ear. I felt it under my fingers, too, which were placed on his chest. He was breathing slowly, his eyes still closed. His arm was wrapped around my body. Maybe Fairy Tail had rubbed off on me and made me a softie, but I wanted to stay in his arms. I lifted my hand and slid my fingers along his pointed ear. He grabbed my arm—not opening his eyes—and I yelped. When his eyes finally lazily drooped open he stared at me. His 'just woke up' look was pretty attractive. His hair was tousled and his clothes a little crumpled. His shirt was partially unbuttoned, revealing his collarbone and a bit of his chest.

He caught me staring at him and released my hand. He turned away from me, "Were you touching me?"

"Yeah," I said casually, leaning back against the cave wall.

Erik turned to me and I noticed that his face was bright red, "Wh—I'm you're kidnapper!"

"Hey, there is no rule saying that the kidnapped doesn't have a right to touch the kidnapper. I just really wanted to touch your ears. They're cool."

He blushed even deeper, "You're so strange." He stood up and stretched his arms above his head. He walked deliberately quickly out of the cave. I stared after him and then decided to follow him.

"Plus, you owe me one…for the whole, you know, almost killing me thing," I said, striding after him. His legs were longer than mine, so I had to walk quickly to keep up with him.

"Kidnappers don't owe the kidnapped anything," he said sternly.

"You're right, I guess you paid me back by letting me sleep on you last night," I said. I stared at his face and watched in satisfaction as he turned bright red, "You're really shy aren't you?"

"No!" he insisted. I was quiet for a few seconds.

"Are you going to let me go now?" I asked. He shook his head. "Why not? It's not like Natsu actually loves me. I don't think keeping me prisoner would help you."

"Don't try and escape," he said.

"I bet I'd be able to escape if I really wanted to," I said calmly.

Erik eyed me, "I doubt it."

"No, I'm strong. You'd be surprised."

"Uh-huh." He clearly didn't believe me.

"Arm wrestle?" He shot me a weird look, "What?"

"I asked if you wanted to arm wrestle with me." At first he shook his head and then he reconsidered, "Alright."  
"What'll you give me if I win? My freedom?"

"No. I will give you something though." I hated mysteries. He followed me to a nearby stump. We propped our arms on our elbows. I counted to three. He definitely looked like he wasn't going to take this seriously. On the count of three I slammed his arm onto the stump, no doubt bending it painfully. He cried out. I released him and he stared at me.

"Told you," I said, "You were too easy. I've met stronger."

"What the hell?" he asked, still not believing what just happened.

"You owe me my prize now." I got to my feet and he did a few seconds later. He stared at me. "So…what is it? Clearly it's not my freedom beca—"

I wasn't even given a chance to finish my sentence. Normally, that would have pissed me off. I hate being interrupted. In that particular moment, however, I was a little too surprised to say much of anything. Erik had pulled me into his arms and crushed his mouth to mine. Having lived with Zirconis my entire life, not even experiencing a warm embrace, this was my first kiss…well my first real kiss; I don't consider what Sting did to me a kiss, (especially because he just did it do win a fight). It was pretty exhilarating. He pressed my body against his and kissed me deeply. At first I was caught by surprise and just stood there rigidly. Soon, though, I sunk into it. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back. I'm not sure why I was kissing my kidnapper, maybe it was because I didn't see him that way, but it was utterly sensual.

He pulled away and left me gasping for air, "That was your prize." His face was as red as mine probably was. "Nice prize," I said. I smiled and realized I felt a little dizzy. Suddenly, a bright light flashed in my peripheral vision. I flinched and ducked away from it. A column of white, blinding light narrowly missed my face. I growled. I knew that light. Luckily, when the light ceased, I saw that Erik had managed to avoid it.

"What are you doing to Jay?!" shouted Sting. He was standing nearby in dragon force, his gaze shooting daggers at Erik.

"Who are you?" Erik shouted back.

"That's Sting. When we get the chance, we pretty much beat each other to death," I said nonchalantly, crossing my arms over my chest.

Erik looked at me quizzically, "You _choose _to do this?" I nodded and shrugged. Sting hurled another attack at Erik and this time he narrowly avoided it.

"Sting, stop!" I yelled. He ignored me. I sighed. Erik wasn't fighting back. It was time for me to step in.

I engaged dragon force. Green light shimmered around me, powerful magic flowing through me. I leaped towards Sting, grabbing his head and slamming it into the same stump Erik and I had just had our arm wrestling contest on. Of course, now it was a dented stump. I released Sting and let him fall to the ground. I stomped a boot on his chest, pinning him down with one leg.

"Jay, what are you doing? I was trying to save you!" cried Sting.

I rolled my eyes, "You of all people should know that I'm not the kind of person that will ever need saving." He grasped my boot, but I didn't ease off of him.

"Y-you're a Dragonslayer?" said Erik. He looked shell-shocked. I ran a hand through my long hair.

"Didn't I tell you?" He shook his head. I turned back to Sting and kneeled down over him, my boot still on his chest.

"Look, Erik here is an agreeable guy. I don't take kindly to you beating the shit out of him," I snarled, grinding the heel of my heavy boot on his chest. His face contorted in pain. "Will you attack him again if I let you up?"

"Maybe," he grunted. I ground my heel again and punched him in the face. "No, no I won't!" he howled. I grinned and eased off of him, offering him my hand up. He took it and didn't let go once he was upright. Instead he forced his mouth onto mine. This was the second time he'd done this recently. It pissed me off. I tried to shove him off but he wouldn't let go of me. When he finally pulled away I head-butted him.

"What the _hell_ was that!?" I screeched.

He grinned, "Disinfecting you." I needed him right where it hurt. He crumpled over and squeaked, "I guess I deserved that." I nodded resolutely.

"What kind of bastard just goes and does something like that?" I demanded.

"That kind," grunted Sting, pointing to Erik. I felt my face turn bright red.

"You sure you know him?" asked Erik. I nodded and rubbed my temples.

"Jay, listen to me," pleaded Sting, getting to his feet, "Ever since I met you—" I raised my hand, "I don't listen to sexual molesters. Let's go, Erik."

"Erik? Who's Erik?" questioned Sting. I pointed to Erik. "That guy's name is Cobra. He's a criminal. You still want to go with him?" I looked at Erik. He just stared back and me. I turned back to Sting and shrugged, "We all have a past."

Sting facepalmed, "Right, I forgot that you're a criminal, too."

"Hehe, and proud of it. Bye, Sting. I hope I won't be seeing you." I waved a hand over my shoulder as I turned away from him.

"Jay, wait!" called Sting, grabbing my shoulder. That did it. His level of annoyingness could not have gotten any higher. I grabbed his wrist and flipped him over my shoulder. He slammed into the ground. "Sorry, Sting. Can't have you following us. We've got some revenge to take care of," I said, lifting my boot.

"Stop, Jay. Don't! You have to know that I l—" My boot cracked across his face and he passed out. I looked up and dusted off my jeans.

"Shall we go?" I asked Erik.

"You're a Dragonslayer," he said. I nodded. "And a criminal?" I nodded.

"I dabble in the minor stuff. Mostly stealing, beating…a little torture here and there." He stared at me.

"I have no right to judge."

"What did you do anyway?" I asked, walking up beside him. I left Sting there, unconscious.

"I…tried to destroy the world," muttered Erik, hiding his face from me. I ducked into his line of sight.

"Hey, it could have been worse." He laughed skeptically. "How?"

I gave it a moment's thought, "You could have succeeded!" I smiled and patted him on the back. I walked on, but stopped myself. I sighed. Yeah, being in Fairy Tail had made me a softie. I turned and slung Sting over my shoulder. I carried him over the cave that Erik and I had come from. I lay him down on the stones and stripped off my jacket. I put it on him and sighed. "Really an idiot," I mumbled and turned to leave the cave. Erik was waiting for me.

"You have a heart after all?" I frowned, "That's harsh…and for the record I've always had a heart. I just sometimes didn't have any patience with…certain people…if you don't stop talking you'll become one of those people!" I marched off.

**~The Next Day~**

"Come one, we have to keep moving or they'll catch up to us," he said. I just glared at him. I was sitting on a boulder-sized rock in the forest that we'd taken shelter in. My legs were splayed out on front of me, mostly out of exhaustion.

"I'm so hungry," I said, lying down on the rock. I lifted my head, "You know, if I die of hunger you won't be able to get your vengeance."

He groaned, "You are so annoying."

"Well excuse me, but you _are _the one that chose to kidnap me. I'm just the victim here."

He looked down at me, "I'll give you food after two more miles." He held up two fingers. I reached up and pushed one of his fingers down. He shook his head and stuck it back up. I frowned and flipped him off.

"Fine, one more mile." I rejoiced. "Hey, what food do you have?"

"Not much. On the other side of this forest there's a town, though. We should be able to get there soon. I'll get you food there."

"Is that within your mile limit?" He rolled his eyes and nodded. As we walked I recounted the events of late. First, I'd been forced into Fairy Tail. At first I'd hated it, pretty much wanting to punch everything I saw, but I'd grown used to it. I'm not sure if I grew fond of it or not, but I felt a strange emptiness in the pit of my stomach. Next, I'd found Finn. That was definitely an important event. Thirdly, Erik had abducted me. It wasn't that bad, being abducted and everything. I might have a positive attitude about it because I could leave whenever I felt like it, though. I guess that didn't really mean I was kidnapped, but I think it would give me some stellar badass points if I could go around and tell people that I'd been kidnapped and escaped with my own strength. Then, Sting had showed up. Oh, let's not forget that Erik had kissed me followed by Sting "disinfecting" me.

Suddenly, I was jerked out of my recollection by a slam in the face. I was about to emit an impressively long string of profanities, but found my voice silenced my one of Erik's hands over my mouth.

"Sh. Listen," he whispered to me. I listened and I listened hard. I heard nothing until a few seconds later. What I heard practically had me jumping for joy.

"Finn!" I yelled out, "Finn! I'm here!" Erik's hand clapped over my mouth again.

"Do you honestly think that your chimaera is alone?" he hissed in my ear. My eyes went wide. _Oh, shit_.

"Run for it," said Erik and then he yanked my arm so that I would follow him. I fought the urge to turn around and run towards Finn. I could hear him plowing through the nearby trees. Right now, though, helping Erik was more important than seeing my beloved Finn again. I felt Erik's hand ripped out of my own.

"What the f—" I began as I was lifted into the air. My feet dangled below me. I started breathing quickly and my heart was pounding in my ears.

"H-h-h-high!" I screamed, "No, no, no, no, no, no! Put my down. NO!" It was another one of my weaknesses. I was terribly afraid of heights. When I was younger Zirconis tried to teach me how to fly—under the impression that I was a dwarf dragon as previously mentioned—and it didn't end well. Ever since then when I'm in a high place I get jelly legs and can't move.

"Sorry!" said a voice. Wait…a voice? I looked up and realized that a _blue flying cat _was holding me suspended in the air.

"What the—" I began again when I saw it. That was before I started plummeting to the ground. I screamed. There was no way I would walk away from a fall this high without a broken bone…most likely several. As I fell, screaming, I felt a painful impact in the side of my chest. I closed my eyes tight and waiting for the pain to hit me. Images of my first time flying—more like falling—flashed through my head. I braced for a similar pain. Nothing happened.

I peeked through one eye. "Hey," said Natsu. He was holding me princess-style in his arms. I groaned. So that flying cat was _his _partner.

"Did you come to rescue me?" I asked him. He nodded triumphantly. "That's dumb. You know you're the second one to do that? I beat the first one unconscious."

"Jay!" called I voice.

"Speak of the devil," I said, facepalming. I was still being cradled like a baby in Natsu's arms.

"Well, well. Natsu Dragneel. Fancy meeting you here," said Sting, "I'll take Jay now." He held out his arms. I was so not going to let that happen.

"Wait—"

"No, I won't give her to you," said Natsu defensively, hugging my tighter to him.

"I think—"

"What are you talking about? She's not yours," said Sting, crossing his arms.

"I don't want—"

"I'm the one who rescued her first. She's coming with me!" Natsu insisted.

Finally I gave up on the pacifist approach…I never was good at settling things by peaceful means. I clenched my fists, the two still arguing about who was going to take me, and sucker punched Natsu in the stomach. He dropped me and I landed on my feet.

"Your damn cat! God, why did you have to show up?" I demanded.

"What? I rescued you!" he wheezed.

"And you!" I said, turning to Sting. He backed off. "Why are _you _here?"

"You rescue you?" That earned him a similar sucker punch. "I went easy on you because your damn cat didn't show up, but next time—" I was forcibly knocked to the ground. I felt a slobbery tongue slide all over my face. I laughed. It tickled like hell…it was a tongue tickle hell.

"No, no, Finn, stop it!" I grabbed onto his muzzle and he helped me to my feet. I wrapped my arms around his thick neck, or rather as far around it as they could reach, and hugged him tight, "I missed you, too, buddy. Why did you lead Natsu here?"

"Don't forget about me," said a gruff voice. I went stiff and then turned slowly. Gajeel was leaning against a tree.

"You, too, huh?" I asked, "You here to rescue me, too?"

He shook his head and grinned, "I just wanted to see what you would do to Natsu. I like seeing him in pain. I figured that you'd be fine when we got here."

I grinned, "That's refreshing. See, Natsu? Sting, too. Gajeel has faith in me." I stroked Finn's neck and he licked my ear. I shivered.

"Why'd you just get here?" I asked Gajeel.

"I was busy tying snake-boy up," he replied.

"Seriously? You tied him up?"

"Yeah. Pretty tight, too." I shook my head and led Finn over to where Erik was. I sighed and started untying him.

"What are you doing?" demanded Natsu, apparently having recovered from his gut-punch.

"You must be dumb or something. I'm untying him, genius," I said coolly, removing the rope from Erik's wrists. He rubbed his wrists when the rope was gone.

"Is this Finn?" he asked. He reached up to Finn and my chimaera friend growled.

"He doesn't like other people. I wouldn't do that or you'll lose a hand," I said. Erik withdrew his hand.

"Why are you so close?" demanded Natsu. "I'd like to know also," said Gajeel.

"They kissed," said Sting. I calmly, mentally noted to beat him to death later…or whenever I had the time in my busy schedule. A lot of people to beat, so little time I always say. "What? It was the prize for beating him in an arm-wrestling match," I said. The reactions of the different Dragonslayers were comical.

Sting said, "I can't believe you kissed him."

Erik turned red and covered his face, "Sorry."

Natsu yelled, "You kissed him?!"

Gajeel let out his signature _geehee_ and said, "Ha, you beat him in an arm wrestling match?"


	5. Chapter 5

My bed was moving. It expanded and collapsed underneath of me. That was probably because my bed was Finn, and he was breathing deeply in his sleep. I couldn't fall asleep, though. I lay there, my eyes closed and my dark green hair falling over my face, and tried to go to sleep. After about and hour or two I gave up on the goal of sleep. I sat upright, opening my eyes again. I was wide-awake.

I flipped my hair out of my face and sighed. Finn didn't even notice my movement. He was so large that he probably didn't even feel my shift in position. I swung my legs over his side and let them hand there. The fire we'd made earlier in the night was reduced to mere coals glowing in the dark night. I stared at them and then averted my gaze. Lying around the fire were the four Dragonslayers. For some reason, we'd ended up falling asleep here…or rather they did. I was just the creepy girl who was watching them sleep.

Erik was sighing in his sleep. His pointed ears twitched when a rabbit ran by. He must have had sharp hearing, because the rabbit was practically silent as it bounced through the woods. Erik's sleeping face seemed pleasantly calm. He seemed innocent, which was strange for someone who had recently told me that he had tried to destroy the world. He looked almost like a child, sleeping curled up to combat the cold of the forest at night.

My gaze shifted. Sting was lying calmly on the forest floor. His breath was slow and strangely rhythmic. His hands lay on his chest. Speaking of his chest, I was admiring it. His abs were well defined and I couldn't help but appreciate them. Then again, almost any woman would, (not including those who aren't interested in men…ahem). Sting's face was devilishly handsome. I couldn't help but stare at him. He was the sort of person who drew the attention of others without even having to act out of the ordinary. He naturally drew girls in…which was really a pain in the ass for me.

I looked to Natsu. His nose twitched when a bug landed on it. He swatted it away in his sleep. I suppressed my laugh, not wanting to wake any of the others up. Natsu mumbled something quietly and then his nose twitched again, even though the tiny bug was sufficiently swatted. He was comical even in his sleep. His little cat buddy was sleeping next to him, curled up in the crook of his arm. It was pretty cute, even though I held a grudge against the cat because he displayed one of my weaknesses to the world.

Gajeel was propped up against a nearby tree. His body was positioned so it looked like he was wide-awake, but his eyes were closed and he was making little snoring sounds. Lily was leaned up against the tree beside him, his arms crossed over his chest. They were two of a kind. I couldn't help but smile at their oddness.

I didn't want to admit it, but all of them had grown on me. I'd only known Eric for a little while and I already wanted to help him. I'd met Natsu and Gajeel only a little bit before I met Erik and I'd also grown pretty fond of them. I'd known Sting since I was ripped away from my world. I guess I was able to carry on because he was there. I hated acknowledging it, but the brawls we had together were always a release for me. I was able to get rid of the pent up energy and anger that came with losing my home. Granted, that energy and anger mostly went into punching his face, but it still comforted and helped me.

Now wasn't the time to think about this stuff, though. I had to carry out my mission. I silently slid off of Finn's back. He raised his head and looked like he was about to whinny. I leapt onto his face and wrapped my arms around his nose to keep him from making a noise. I hushed him, "Finn, don't make a sound. I'm on a stealth mission." He stared at me and I slowly released his face. He didn't make a peep. I patted his neck and whispered, "Good boy."

Now was the hard part. I had to walk over all of the Dragonslayers without making a single sound…and without stepping on them. I took a deep breath, meditating for a moment. When I opened my eyes I stepped forward. I tiptoed past Gajeel who was still fast asleep against his tree with Lily. I stepped in a gap between Natsu's arm and his chest. I lost my balance when he shifted in his sleep. I spun around and grasping the air and waving my arm to try and keep upright, but still fell to the ground. I plummeted towards Sting.

I caught myself, my palms slamming into the ground. I winced as a sharp rock dug into my left hand. I bit down the pain as I realized that I was in a very compromising position. My hands were placed on either side of Sting's gorgeous face. I had almost landed on him, but stopped myself right before our bodies had made contact. My face hovered above his, my stupid long hair touching his cheek. He mumbled something and looked like he was about to wake up. I backed off of him slowly. "Shhh," I whispered, stroking Sting's head. I hoped he would fall asleep like a little kid. Instead he said, "You're so weird, Jay."

"Fuuuuu—" I began. I stopped myself when he said, "I know this is a dream. Jay would never do this in real life. She hates me…she doesn't even know that I love her." I clapped a hand to my mouth. That hit me hard. I didn't hate him. Actually, I liked him a lot. I held onto his head, stroking his head. I whispered into his ear, "I don't hate you." I kissed him on the cheek and let go of his head. He gently drifted back to sleep as I stepped over him. His words echoed through my head: _she doesn't even know that I love her_. I felt guilt my heart start pumping hard and guilt rise. I fought the urge to turn around, wake him up, and tell him that I didn't hate him. I wanted to apologize for ignoring him today. He must have tried to tell me and I'd ignored him. I'd said 'I don't listen to sexual molesters' and knocked him unconscious. _Way to ruin a confession, Jay_.

I squatted next to Erik. I picked up a leaf and ran it along the side of his face. He mumbled something and swiped at the side of his face. Yeah, this was cruel, but it was so hilarious. I ran the leaf along his face again and he shifted to his other side. I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing and did it again. He finally sat upright and opened his mouth to say something. I clapped my hand over his face to stop him from making a sound to wake the others up.

"Shhh," I said, holding a finger to my lips. He nodded and I let go of his face. I motioned for him to follow me, and he did. I completed the perilous journey over the sleeping Dragonslayers. He followed behind me and reached the other side safely. I hoisted myself up onto Finn's back and Erik leaped up after me. I patted Finn's side and leaned down next to his ear. I shushed him again as he stood up. For such a huge animal he did a pretty good job being silent. I winced as a twig snapped under his read tiger paw and again as one of his hooves collided with a rock.

I looked behind us as we started to put distance between the campsite and ourselves. I felt a pain in my chest. I felt pretty bad leaving the others behind. I'd given them crap for it, but I'd actually liked it that they'd come to save me. Yeah, it put a serious dent in my badass reputation, but it still made me happy. I felt strange warmth whenever I thought about them. Maybe even the blue cat…

I sighed and turned forwards. Erik's warmth kept me from shivering. When we were out of hearing range I sped Finn up. I praised myself for how quickly I'd managed to get the hang of steering and handling Finn.

"I'm sorry," said Erik as Finn brought us farther and farther away from the others.

"Why?" I asked him.

"Because I took you away from your friends," he replied.

I smiled. He was a really nice guy after all, "I chose to leave, Erik. It's not like you're abducting me like last time." When Finn leapt over a low log Erik started to slide off of his back. I grabbed onto him and he looked grateful, "You'd better hold onto me. I've got his mane, but all you have is hope that another log won't come along." He hesitated and then his arms wrapped tightly around me. I felt gentle warmth flood through me. I grinned and spurred Finn on, picking up the pace now that I didn't have to worry about Erik tumbling off.

**~The Following Morning~**

I inhaled as much food as I could. Last night I didn't eat anything at all, so now I was starving. We'd ordered a massive amount of food once we'd put some distance between my stalkers and ourselves.

"Do you always eat this much?" asked Erik. He looked a little scared.

"Only when a kidnapper starves me to death," I replied, stuffing more food in my mouth. I'd tied Finn up outside so I wasn't worried about him. I'm pretty sure people in town would wonder why a fully-grown chimaera was just calmly tied to a post outside of a restaurant, but I didn't really care what they thought. I thought it would be funny to see their reactions.

"I didn't starve you. We went without food for a day," he replied. I nodded as if to say: _and your point? _

"I'm a third generation Dragonslayer and on top of that I'm the Jade Dragonslayer. I guess Zirconis's eating habits have rubbed off on me a little bit," I said. I leaned back and pat my stomach, admiring my food baby.

"I don't think I want to know what your dragon's eating habits are. Are you done now?" he asked. He raised his hand for the waitress to come and give us the check. No doubt it was pretty expensive. I slid out of the booth we'd been sitting in and ran out the door. I heard Erik called after me, "Hey, where are you going?" I grinned. I wasn't about to put my jewels down on that table, not when I was the kidnapped. At this point, though, that was more of an excuse to not have to pay for my own meal.

I found Finn waiting for me outside. He whinnied when he saw me and started bouncing up and down. I grinned as the children who had been staring at him screamed and ran away. It might seem weird that I thought that those kids' fear was hilarious, but I'm a cruel person sometimes. I walked up to Finn, "Hey, buddy. I brought you something." I pulled out the burger that I'd stolen from our table and held it in front of his face. Finn's tongue slipped out of his mouth and wrapped around the meat. He sucked the burger into his mouth and swallowed it all in one go. "Should have brought you more, huh?" I asked.

"What kind of girl are you to have tamed a fully-grown chimaera?" asked a voice. I looked up and saw a man standing beside me. He wore a cape that was in terrible shape. It looked like it had holes burnt in it and survived being mauled by a pack of wild dogs. He had auburn hair and stubble on his chin.

"You know, the usual," I said, closing one eye as Finn's tongue slid across my face.

"Most girls I know can't do something like that," he replied.

"Who are you?" I asked, changing the topic.

"My name is Gildarts," he said as if I would know him. I stared at him. His smile faded, "You're a part of Fairy Tail and you haven't heard my name?"

"Yeah, well I'm new," I replied. His shoulders slumped. "Why would I know you?"

"I've been called Fairy Tail's strongest wizard before," he said, grinning proudly. He must have seen the guild mark on my wrist.

"An old man like you is the strongest wizard? Some guild I'm in," I mumbled under my breath.

"Pardon?" he asked. "I didn't say anything." He looked at me skeptically.

"Jay, we're going. Why did you ditch me like tha—" Erik's eyes went wide as he walked out of the restaurant. His face paled. I followed his gaze and realized it landed on this Gildarts guy. I reacted instantly. The look in Erik's eyes was enough to tell me that Gildarts was a significant threat. He'd said he was the strongest wizard in Fairy Tail. With people like Natsu and Erza in this guild, I was a little worried. I quickly untied Finn and pulled myself onto his back, "Let's go, Finn!" I slapped his haunches and he reared up. I got to my feet on Finn's back, keeping my balance as he ran. Gildarts must have recognized Erik, because he was racing after me.

I leaned down and grabbed Erik's hand as we galloped past. I hauled him onto Finn's back and told him to steer us towards the street so that we could make an easy escape. I steadily rose to my full height, balancing on Finn's back. Gildarts was still after us. I figured that Finn would outrun him, but cursed as Gildarts grabbed onto one of the carriages that were speeding behind us. I grimaced. This guy was going to be a pain in the ass.

I took a deep breath and summoned my magic. In a single blast, I released a cloud of emerald fog. It reached from one side of the street to the other, but I controlled it so that it didn't advance in front of us. I had to make sure that Erik was able to see where he was steering us. I slid down behind him and grasped onto his shirt so as not to fall off. I was pretty sure that I'd used up all my luck for staying on Finn's back while standing. When we were a ways away I let the fog clear up. There was Gildarts, standing on top of one of the carriages. I waved and winked at him. He grinned and shook his head. It was a gesture that both admitted his defeat and showed respect for my skill. I'd avoided the most powerful wizard in Fairy Tail with just a little fog. I laughed as we rode away from the town, Gildarts vanishing into the distance.


	6. Chapter 6

I'd been acting mostly on my intuition. First was when I'd run away fro the other Dragonslayers. Something deep down had told me that they would probably turn Erik in. After all, Sting has said Erik was actually a criminal named Cobra, and I didn't want to take the chance that the others would turn him in. As far as I could tell, Erik regretted his crimes. That was enough for me.

The second time was when I had avoided Gildarts. That same gut feeling had taken hold of me. I'd automatically responded when I saw Erik's fear. I'd gotten us away from the wizard, but I had a feeling we'd run into him again.

"Who was that guy?" I asked Erik. We were riding on Finn's back and I was clinging onto his waist.

"That is Gildarts Clive. He is a very powerful wizard," Erik answered.

"And…why did you look like you were about to shit your pants when you saw him?"

"Because I don't doubt that if he had the chance he would send me back to prison. I don't want that."

"You were in prison?" He nodded. "Why aren't you in prison now?"

"I was exonerated…by of Fairy Tail."

"Fairy Tail got you out of prison?" He nodded. "Then why would Gildarts bring you back to prison?"

"I may or may not have gotten on his bad side." I was quiet for a few moments. He spoke again, "I still live the life of a criminal. I haven't committed a crime in a long time, and yet people still look down on me. I'm infamous throughout Fiore for what I've done."

"If it makes you feel better, I didn't know you. Well, that's not really a claim to fame, though."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked me, looking back at me quickly and then returning to steering Finn.

"Um…I was sort of…kind of born about a thousand years ago…" I traced circles on his back.

"That's a really bad joke."

"Um it's actually the truth." Erik yanked hard on Finn's mane and Finn slid to a stop. Erik turned around and stared at me, "You don't look like you're a thousand."

"I time traveled…" He stared at me and I stared back. A blanket of awkward silence suffocated us. "I swear, its true."

"I believe you…I guess." It was my turn to stare at him.

"Erik, I have to go back," I said to him. His face sunk, "I know."

"I can't help you with your revenge anymore. I don't know what happened with this friend and Natsu, but you need to let it go. It will only hurt you if you live in the past."

"You don't understand anything," he whispered. My Dragonslayer hearing was barely able to pick it up.

"I know how painful it is to be weighed down by what's happened in the past. I know, Erik, I really do," I said as he leapt off of Finn. "I'll talk to Fairy Tail for you. I'll try and get your haters to forgive you." He smiled wistfully. "Goodbye." Before I was able to ride off into the sunset, Erik pulled my face down to meet his. He kissed me slowly, deeply. When his lips separated from mine he didn't pull his face away. "I'll miss you," he whispered in my ear. With that he slapped Finn's rear end, causing him to gallop away. I looked behind me, my hair flowing around my face. I brushed it out of the way, cursing my long hair, and saw Erik standing there. He waved and I waved back. Somehow, I wasn't sad. Just as I'd known to leave the other Dragonslayers, as I'd know to flee from Gildarts…I knew I would see him again.

**~A Few Days Later~ **

I sighed. This was going to be tough. I didn't want to think about what awaited me on the other side of that door. I took a deep breath, mentally preparing myself. I stepped forward and kicked the door open, "I'm back!" Finn whinnied behind me.

"Jay!" squealed a girl's voice. Wendy ran towards me and latched onto me.

"Whoa, there. Calm down, now. I know I'm great and all, but this is a little over the top," I said, raising my arms in the air. She detached herself from me and I smiled. I winked at her, "It's ok. I have a soft spot for you." She grinned.

"Where were you?" asked a voice. I turned and saw Erza standing near me, "I know Natsu went to find you, but where did you go?"

"Um…no where?" Erza shook her head and turned away. I guess I could keep this a secret for a little while…at least until I attempted to convince them to let Erik off the hook. I glanced around the room. A few people smiled at me and welcomed me back…which was weird because last time I'd seen them they'd openly hated me. I felt the blood drain from my face when my eyes met a particular gentleman who was sitting at the bar chugging down alcohol. That was when his eyes caught mine. He slammed the alcohol down on the bar table and stood up. I braced myself.

He hurled himself towards me and I dodged backwards, doing a quick flip and sliding on the ground.

"You're fast," said Gildarts, "Mind telling me what you were doing with that renowned criminal?" I shook my head, "What if I say I don't want to tell you?" He grinned, "I'd hoped you'd say that."

"Gildarts, what are you doing?" screamed Mira, outraged. I held up my hand, "It's alright, Mira. This is something that has to happen." Even though I wasn't a man, I knew the man code…and I would respect it. I'd one upped Gildarts, and he needed a bit of an ego booster. That doesn't mean I was going to make it easy for him. We stepped outside and stared at each other. People gathered around. I heard several people yell, "Don't do this, Jay!" Another screamed, "Go Jay!" I grinned at that one. I'm pretty sure it was Wendy.

I cracked my neck and each of my knuckles slowly. Gildarts grinned, "You're not stepping down?"

"I figure I owe you this much," I replied. He nodded. We readied ourselves. I could sense that he was a powerful wizard, but I wasn't about to start getting nervous now. I clenched my fists and displayed my determination in my gaze. As if our minds were in synchronization we charged towards each other. I propelled myself forward with my legs and leaped into the air as I got closer to him. I brought my fist down to meet his. He was strong, probably as strong as I was. My strength was increased due to my particular magical abilities and I wondered if his was as well.

A shockwave rippled away from where our fists collided. I smiled. I'd never fought an opponent as powerful as he was…this was going to be fun. I dropped to the ground and dodged as he swung his fist towards my face. I lashed out with my leg, trying to trip him, but he dodged easily. The smile never left my face as we fought.

"You're pretty talented," he said as we hurled ourselves at each other.

"Thanks, you too. Mind if I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Will you forgive Erik if I win?"

He was silent for a moment and then, "Yes." I grinned widely. That got me going. I lashed out with even more strength and power than I had before. We were fighting close combat style, so this was my perfect opportunity. I attacked with a point-blank roar. He stumbled backwards, his feet sliding across the ground. I heard someone yell, "She pushed him back!"

He smiled, "You seem more worthy than I'd given you credit for."

"Most people say that."

"Then, I guess we'll have to crank this up a notch." I shot him a questioning look. Then, he exploded into white light. His magical energy increased ten fold, causing me to stumble backwards. I felt fear seize my heart, not letting go. I started panting and sweating. His incredible magic power was enough to do this to me without him even having to attack? I fell to my knees, breathing hard. I stared defiantly up at him. His whole body shimmered in blinding light. His eyes seemed to glow evilly behind the wall of magic.

I felt like passing out, but I refused to do so. I refused to lose. I had to win for Erik. I'd told him that I would help him, and this was my chance. I was on my hands and knees, my body quivering. I summoned all of my strength. This was more magical energy than I'd ever wielded. I felt power well up inside of me, flowing through my veins and pulsing through me with each beat of my heart. I slid one foot forward and then the other. I pushed myself to my feet. I stared at him. He looked surprised, amazed that I'd managed to stand under the weight of so much magic.

I grinned. So much magic was flowing through my veins at that very moment. I closed my eyes, strong wind starting to toss my hair around me. When my eyes snapped open, an immense amount of magical energy erupted from my body. Dragon force was five times as strong as usual. I felt scales creep all over my body, encasing my arms, legs, and neck. Brilliant green scales curled themselves around me. Each one buzzed with magical energy, strengthening me even more. My own emerald magical aura rivaled that of Gildarts. We stood like that. The air was thick with magic. We stopped ourselves at exactly the same time.

We were both breathing hard, our sides heaving with each breath. "I guess that counts as a tie, huh?" I panted, looking up at the sky.

"I'd call that a tie, yeah," he said. His breathing started to return to regular as the scales on my body started to fade away. As each one disappeared I felt weaker and weaker. I felt my legs give my as my mind became fuzzy. I collapsed, waiting for my body to collide with the hard ground. Instead, I felt arm circle around me. I opened one eye. It took all the strength I had left. Gildarts was leaning over me. He'd caught me as I fell.

"Guess…you…win…" I trailed off as my mind flew away from me. Darkness enveloped me. I'd lost.

**~The Next Day~**

I bolted upright, my hair flying and my heart racing. I panicked for a moment before hands grabbed me. I panicked for a moment after that until I realized that they belonged to Wendy.

"Calm down, Jay. You're safe," she said. My breathing started to slow down.

"Where am I?"

"In the medical wing of the guildhall."

"We have one of those?" I started to swing my legs out of bed, but a crippling pain erupted all over my body. I screamed out.

"Jay, don't move!" I gasped through the pain. _Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…_

"Something happened to you when you released all of that magical energy, Jay. You'll be hurting for a while." She was right. Every inch of my body felt like it was burning and freezing at the same time. I felt like I was being ripped apart. It was so much worse than what Erik had done to me.

"You're a touch one aren't you?" said a voice. I didn't bother to look who it was; I could recognize his voice.

"Gildarts now is not the time to talk with her. Wait until she recovers a bit more," said Wendy.

I shook my head and laughed, "I would be lying if I said this didn't hurt."

I heard him laugh, "Well, I've never seen anyone stand up to me like that."

"Yeah, but I lost."

"That's not how I see it." I heard a flurry of footsteps and heard another voice, "Can I touch her?"

"Yes, but be careful. I'll leave you two alone," said Wendy. I then heard her little feet tapping out the door. I felt a hand on my face. It stung a little because my skin felt raw, but I welcomed the warmth. The pain started to subside as I lay still.

"I'm sorry," said the voice. I grinned and didn't open my eyes. There was only one person who had apologized to me so much.

"You're here, aren't you? I guess it was worth it," I said. I winced as a pang of pain took my attention away from his warmth. I shook it off—not literally, that would hurt like hell—and focused on his warm hand again.

"It's my fault, though," he whispered. His hair brushed my face. He must have been leaning over me because I could feel his warm breath on my cheeks.

"No, if I hadn't been so stupid then I wouldn't be like this. I blame it on my own stubbornness," I said.

"But—"

"Mind if I sleep now?" I interrupted him, "I kind of feel like death right now, so I'd like to get a little shut-eye."

"Your eyes are shut."

I grinned, "Don't be such a smartass." I fell asleep.

**~The Next Day~**

I slowly came back to myself. My eyes drifted open. I was lying in a bed. My memories slowly came back to me. I ran my hands along the white sheets, pulling myself upright. It was relatively painless. Asleep on the side of my bed was Erik. I had been wondering if I'd imagined him being here, but I guess I hadn't. Asleep on the other side of my bed was Sting. On the foot of my bed was Natsu. They were all fast asleep and none of them woke up when I shifting under the sheets.

I smiled. They'd all cared enough about me to stay here until I got better. I had my suspicious as to why. I leaned forward and poked Erik, then Sting, and then I nudged Natsu with my foot. They all groggily lifted their heads from my bed. When they saw I was awake they all smiled. It was the weirdest thing; they did all of that in complete synchronization.

"Sleep well…on my bed?" I asked them.

"Sorry," mumbled Erik.

"Thanks for lending it to me," said Sting, rubbing his eyes.

"I figured you wouldn't mind," yawned Natsu. I sighed.

"You guys are so weird."

"Why's that?" Natsu asked. I shrugged, "You just are. Get out. I need to change. I feel nasty." They all hauled themselves to their feet and stretched their muscles. They stalked out of the door and it shut softly behind them. I couldn't stop smiling even as I changed into a fresh set of clothes that Wendy had probably left for me. I stepped out of the door once I'd finished. All of the boys' heads snapped towards me. "Sorry I kept you waiting," I said with a laugh.

"Are you sure you're fully recovered?" asked Erik. I nodded, "I feel a lot better. There's still one thing that's bothering me, though."

"What is it?" Sting and Natsu said frantically at the same time. I raised my hand to silence them, "I need to talk to each of you…individually."

"Me first?" asked Natsu, pointing to his chest.

"No, obviously _I'm _going first," said Sting crossing his arms.

"I don't _think so_," growled Natsu. They butted heads and I punched both of them, "Now's not the time for that." I grabbed Natsu's arm and lead him away from the other two. I pulled him back into the medical wing and shut the door behind us.

"What is it?" he looked at me eagerly. His face was a little flushed.

"You're probably not going to like what I have to say."

His brows furrowed, "I think I know what you're going to say." I looked like I'd just punched him in the gut—well, technically I had a few moments ago, but the look on his face was for a different reason.

"I l—" I began. I held a hand over my mouth.

"I don't need to hear it…no, I don't _want _to hear it," he said. An incredible sadness showed up in his eyes. It stung. Was I a bad person? He pulled the door open and drifted out of it, half dead.

"Sting, your turn," I said. I felt pretty horrible as it was, and the look of fear on his face didn't really help with that situation. He backed up a few steps, shaking his head. Obviously, he had seen Natsu walk out looking the way he did. I figured he'd guessed what I'd said to Natsu. I reached forward and snatched Sting's arm, yanking him inside. I shut the door and turned on him.

"I—I," he stuttered.

"Sting, I know about your feelings for me," I said. When in doubt, go straight to the point.

His eyes went wide and his face turned bright red, "Y-you know?" I nodded.

"But I can't accept them, Sting. I love someone else."

He shook his head, "You've only been here for so long, how have you fallen in love with someone already?"

"When you know you know. Sting, I'm not the girl you're looking for. I'm sure one day you'll know, just like I do." He shook his head, "No, no I _love _you, Jay. I'm not going to just give you up!"

"I'm sorry, Sting." He looked like he was about to cry…or punch a wall…I honestly couldn't tell which. Instead, he reached for me and pulled me against him. I was too shocked to resist. Instead of the ravenous and desperate kiss that I expected, he placed a gentle, soft one on my forehead, "Are you sure?" I nodded and he left me. I felt horrible guilt well up inside me, but I pushed it down. Now wasn't the time to feel this. I'd just broken two of my closest friends' hearts for a reason, after all.

I didn't even have to tell him for Erik to step into the room. He shut the door behind him. He looked up at me sorrowfully. "I think I know why you've asked me in here," he said, pain in his voice. I shook my head, "I doubt it."

He looked at me, "I bet I do."

"I bet you don't." I smiled.

"I bet I do," he insisted. I shook my head and he nodded his, "I really bet I d—" I cut off his words with a kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him close to me. I'd never stolen a kiss from someone before; it was exciting. At the same time, though, I felt panic rise in me. Erik was just standing there, his shoulders stiff. He didn't kiss me back. I pulled away, looking at his face. His mouth was wide open and he was staring at me.

"Told you…I bet you don't," I smiled. My worry faded away as I realized I'd shocked him, replaced by delight.

He looked down at me, "You win." He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. It was a long gentle kiss. When we pulled away I smiled up at him and he down at me. "I'm glad I kidnapped you," he whispered to me.

"I'm glad I was kidnapped."

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it...unfortunately, yeah, this does mean that it's over. But hey, if you want to read more like it I have other stories you might like also! Check them out...if you want. I'm not going to force you, or anything. ;) Thanks for sticking with this story until the end! **


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